Episode 17: Maverick Chocolate + Sam Adams

What do you say to a cocktail-inspired Imperial Stout brewed with cacao and aged in bourbon barrels?

In the Cincinnati neighborhood of Over the Rhine—an enclave that housed much of the city’s German population in the 19th century and served as the de facto brewery district—Maverick Chocolate is working with breweries in the city’s thriving craft beer scene to provide cacao for a range of beers.

The most recent example is Black Forest Gateau, a strong and elegant Imperial Stout brewed at the Sam Adams taproom in Over the Rhine. Brewed with cherry and cacao and aged in bourbon barrels, the beer was released for Valentine’s Day as a package with a bar of Maverick Tanzania 80% dark chocolate made with the same cacao used in the beer.

In this episode I talk with Paul Picton, co-founder of Maverick, about his collaborations with Cincinnati breweries, as well as Chris Siegman, head brewer at Sam Adams Cincy, about Black Forest Gateau.

Other beers mentioned in this episode include Taft’s Maverick Porter, MadTree Rubus Cacao and S’mores Gratitude, Darkness Mayan Sacrifice, and Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA.

Also mentioned were bourbons from Evan Williams, New Riff, and OKI.

The music for this episode was sampled from an instrumental version of the song “Love’s Not” written and performed by indie folk musician Anna ps from her 2016 album Umbrella. You can find out more about Anna at her website.

Guests:

Paul Picton is the co-founder of Cincinnati's Maverick Chocolate along with his wife, Marlene. Prior to making chocolate, he was a mechanical engineer working with jet engines with Delta, MTU Aero Engines, and GE. He holds degrees in mechanical engineering, accounting, and history. Maverick's bars have won three Good Food Awards and numerous medals in the International Chocolate Awards.

Chris Siegman began his brewing journey as an homebrewer before brewing professionally for several Cincinnati brewers. In 2018, he was hired as the Sam Adams Cincinnati taproom head brewer. Chris is tasked with developing and brewing new and interesting beers to put on tap at the Cincinnati Taproom and his 2.5 bbl state-of-the-art brewhouse is used as an innovation “kitchen” for new Sam Adams beers.